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General Questions

1. When the university announces a campus closure, what time does it begin and end? 
Depending on the specific situation, the university may choose to delay the start time to report to work, dismiss early, close for an entire day, etc. Generally, the time of the closure (beginning and ending) should be communicated in the announcement of the campus closure.

In no event will the closure begin before the official announcement unless specifically communicated. Any begin or end time specified in the official announcement takes precedence over the general principles listed. If no begin or end time is specified in the announcement the following guidelines will be followed:

• Closure announcements for the next day, the closure will begin at 12 a.m. (midnight) the day of campus closure and end at 11:59 p.m. of that same day. (e.g., an announcement on Monday at 9 p.m. that the campus will be closed the next day, the campus closure is Tuesday 12 a.m. (midnight) through 11:59 p.m.).
• Closure announcements for the day of, the closure will begin at the time of the official announcement and end at 11:59 p.m. of the same day (e.g., announcement on Monday at 5:30 a.m. that the campus will be closed that day, the campus closure is Monday at 5:30 a.m. through 11:59 p.m.).
• Closure announcements for a late start, the closure will begin at 12 a.m. (midnight) or at the time of the announcement whichever is later and will end at the time communicated for the late start (e.g., announcement on Monday at 6 a.m. that the campus will delay opening until 10 a.m., the campus closure is Monday 6 a.m. through 9:59 a.m.).
• Closure announcements for an early release, the closure will begin at the time of the announcement and end at 11:59 p.m. of that same day (e.g., an announcement on Monday at 1 p.m. that the campus will be closed, the campus closure is Monday at 1 p.m. through 11:59 p.m.).

2. How is pay handled for employees who, because of the weather (or the weather prediction), leave before the campus closure officially starts?
To the extent feasible and as approved, employees should take paid time off (e.g., PTO, comp time) or work remotely to cover any portion of their shift that the University was open, and they were not working on campus.

3. What if an employee’s scheduled last day worked occurs during a campus closure?
If the university declares a campus closure on the employee’s last day worked, and the employee is not required to work on-site or via telework, that time should be recorded as administrative leave. Since it was the employee’s intention to work and the closure could not be anticipated, the day will be treated as the last day worked.

Policy Eligibility Questions

4. Are employees who are paid on grants covered by the pay procedures outlined in HR-217? 
Yes. The same policies and procedures apply during a closure to all employees without regard to the employee’s funding.

Generally, salary expenditures on grants are allowable if the costs are in line with institutional policies and the policies are consistently applied to all sources of funds. In rare instances, sponsors may specifically state that such costs are unallowable, in which case departments should work with their campus grants office and their campus Human Resources office to determine how to fund.

5. Are employees who work at a university office that is not located on their home campus covered by a campus closure? 
It depends on the situation or weather conditions at their actual work location. For employees whose office is located on another campus (i.e., different than their home campus), they are covered by the determination of the campus where they work. For university offices that are not located on a campus, administrative leave may be authorized by their chancellor or designee based on conditions at the actual work location. If an employee is unclear whether they should work during a closure, they should clarify with their supervisor or administrative head.

6. Are telecommuting employees eligible for administrative leave or pay in the event of a closure? 
No. Employees who telework on a regular basis or only during a closure are not eligible for administrative leave or additional pay. If an employee is unclear whether they should telework, they should clarify with their supervisor or administrative head.

Working During a Campus Closure

7. Is an employee who is designated to work during a campus closure, either on-site or via telework, eligible for administrative leave if they are unable to or call in absent? 
No. Employees who are required to work but call in absent during a campus closure, for any reason including internet outages, are not eligible for administrative leave.

Employees who are unable to work may use available applicable leave; however, if the employee who was designated to work refuses to work, they cannot use paid time off. Each situation will be considered on its merits.

8. If an employee is required to work on-site only a portion of their shift during a campus closure, how is pay for the remainder of their shift handled? 
Benefit-eligible nonexempt employees who are required to work on site will receive premium pay for all hours worked during the campus closure. If they are not required to work their full shift, hours not worked, but falling during the closure, will be covered by administrative leave.

Example – A campus closure is determined due to inclement weather, which will begin at 12 a.m. (midnight). An employee’s normal schedule is 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. with one hour for lunch. During the closure, they are required to work on site at 5 a.m., but are released from duty at 10 a.m. The employee will be paid premium pay for the 5 hours worked and administrative leave for the remaining 3 hours of the schedule not worked.

9. How is pay handled if a benefit-eligible employee is required to work on-site, but a portion of their shift is outside the beginning and/or end times of the campus closure? 
Benefit-eligible employees who are required to work on-site receive one and one-half times their regular rate for those hours worked that overlap with the actual hours of closure. The hours of their shifts that are outside the hours designated for closure will be paid as regular pay.

Example – An employee’s shift starts at 11 p.m. and ends at 11 a.m. If the campus closure starts at midnight and ends at 10 a.m., the employee will be eligible for one and one-half times their regular rate for the actual hours worked between midnight and 10 a.m. The other hours in the shift will be paid at the regular rate.

10. Should a benefit-eligible nonexempt employee who elected to work on-site during a campus closure receive one and one-half times their regular rate if they are not required to work? 
No. If the employee was not required to work, the employee would receive only their regular pay for the time worked. Any hours worked would be entered in the timekeeping system as regular hours. Additionally, the employee would not be eligible to claim administrative leave for any portion of the day they worked without being required to do so.

11. Are employees who are required to work on-site eligible for call-pay (HR-212) during a campus closure? 
Yes. If the employee is eligible for call-pay per HR-212 policy (e.g., call-in, on-call/standby), it should be paid in addition to applicable pay per HR-217 Emergency Closure. Emergency Closure Administrative Pay

12. If an employee is absent or not typically scheduled to work when a campus closure is declared, are they eligible for administrative leave pay?
No. There was no expectation that the employee would be available to work during a day they had a planned absence, so they are not eligible for administrative leave pay. The employee must use applicable paid time off (e.g., PTO, Bereavement Leave, or other qualifying paid leaves) or take leave without pay.

13. Is an employee on an intermittent or reduced work schedule leave of absence, eligible for administrative leave during a campus closure? 
It depends. Employees are eligible for administrative leave for the time during a campus closure when they typically would have been expected to be available to work. Employees are not eligible for administrative leave when they were not typically expected to be available for work due to an intermittent or reduced schedule leave of absence. If the campus closure occurs during a time in which the employee was not available to work part or all of a shift due to a reduced leave schedule or intermittent leave, there was no expectation the employee would be available for work and the employee is not eligible for administrative leave.

14. For employees who are not required to work and whose regular shift is more than 8 hours on the day(s) the University is closed, how much administrative leave should they receive? 
Eligible employees should be made whole for the time off during a campus closure (i.e., the administrative leave should be equivalent to their regularly scheduled work hours). If an employee is regularly scheduled to work 10 hours on a day subject to campus closure, the employee should claim 10 hours of administrative leave.

15. If an employee is required to work their lunch hour before the start time of an early release campus closure, how will the amount of administrative leave be determined? 
Employees who are required to work their lunch hour before the commencement of an early release campus closure will be paid regular pay for all hours worked. If they are not required to telework once they arrive home, then they will receive administrative leave in the amount needed to compensate them for the number of hours they were scheduled to work that day.

Example – Nonexempt employee normally works 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with 1 hour for lunch. A campus closure is announced that will commence at 1 p.m. that same day (i.e., early release.) If the supervisor requires the employee to work through their lunch hour and does not require the employee to work after the closure commences, the employee will receive 5 hours of regular pay and 3 hours of administrative leave pay (i.e., the 8 hours the employee was scheduled to work the day of the closure.)

Created: 10/01/2019
Updated: 03/18/2020; 11/01/2020; 12/15/2021; posted 12/23/23 with an effective date 01/01/2024